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Characteristics of strontium adsorption onto aquatic sediments in Southwest China

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Abstract

The adsorption of strontium (Sr) onto aquatic sediments plays a crucial role in regulating its environmental mobility and level of ecological risk. This study investigated the adsorption behavior of Sr onto selected sediments through batch equilibrium experiments, revealing that adsorption follows the Langmuir and the Freundlich equations. The adsorption temperature was positively correlated with the maximum adsorption capacity (Qm) of Sr onto sediments (R2: 0.78–0.88). As temperature increases, enhanced molecular kinetics promotes adsorbate diffusion and active site accessibility, resulting in a temperature-dependent augmentation of adsorption capacity (T: 277.15–308.15 K, Qm: 2926–12628 mg·kg− 1, an increase of 1.03–2.10 times). During the adsorption process of sediment, calcium ions (Ca2+) and strontium ions (Sr2+) exhibit significant competitive adsorption behavior. The results show that an increase ion strength significantly inhibits the adsorption capacity of Sr2+ (Ca2+ concentration: 0–0.05 mol·L− 1, the maximum inhibition decreased of Qm: 19.38 times). As the concentration of the equilibrium concentration (Ce) increased, the pH (pHf) values gradually decreased within the range of 7.05–6.35. The adsorption removal efficiency (R%) of Sr increased with the initial pH (pHi) (2.17%-49.65%). This study of the adsorption nature of sediments provides an empirical reference for the treatment of radionuclide contamination in sediments.

Data availability

The datasets generated during and/or analyzed during this study are available from the corresponding author upon reasonable request.

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Funding

This study was supported by Key Lab of Process Analysis and Control of Sichuan Universities (No.GCFX2025004); Yibin University’s University-Level Project (No.2025SZ403).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Key Lab of Process Analysis and Control of Sichuan Universities, Yibin University, Yibin, 644000, China

    Xiang Luo

  2. Faculty of Quality Management and Inspection Quarantine, Yibin University, Yibin, Sichuan, 644000, China

    Xiang Luo & Mingluo Zhou

  3. School of Materials and Chemical Engineering, Yibin University, Yibin, Sichuan, 644000, China

    Dan Zhang

  4. Department of Environmental Engineering, Southwest University of Science and Technology, Mianyang , 621010, China

    Yungui Li

  5. Low-cost Wastewater Treatment Technology International Sci-Tech Cooperation Base of Sichuan Province, Mianyang , 621010, China

    Yungui Li

  6. Key Laboratory of Solid Waste Treatment and Resource Recycle, Ministry of Education, Southwest University of Science and Technology, Mianyang , 621010, China

    Yungui Li

Authors

  1. Xiang Luo
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  2. Dan Zhang
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  3. Mingluo Zhou
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  4. Yungui Li
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Contributions

Xiang Luo and Yungui Li conceived and designed the experiments; Xiang Luo, Dan Zhang, and Mingluo Zhou performed the experiments and analyzed the data; Xiang Luo and Dan Zhang wrote the paper; and Mingluo Zhou, Xiang Luo, and Yungui Li revised the paper. All authors have read and approved the final manuscript.

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Correspondence to
Xiang Luo.

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Luo, X., Zhang, D., Zhou, M. et al. Characteristics of strontium adsorption onto aquatic sediments in Southwest China.
Sci Rep (2026). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-026-38190-7

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-026-38190-7

Keywords

  • Sediments
  • Adsorption
  • Strontium
  • Ionic strength
  • pH

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